Adam Vickers
Sports Editor

B eginning with the eastern
conference and the Atlantic
division we find the Boston
Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightening,
and Montreal Canadiens fill the
top three spots in the NHL. Boston
leads with 56 points, Tampa Bay is
second with 54 points and Montreal
is third with 52 points. Boston has
been consistent up to the mid half
of the season keeping near the

top of the eastern conference all
season. Tampa Bay despite losing
their best player, Steven Stamkos,
have found a way be successful in
their division. Tampa Bay is a solid
team; look for them to move up as
the season goes on and Stamkos
returns. Montreal had slow start
to their season but since then have
found a way to win games, much
due to good goaltending by Carey
Price.

Next we look at the Metropolitan
division by the Pittsburgh
Penguins with 61 points followed
by Washington with 46 points
and Philadelphia Flyers with 44
points. Pittsburgh has easily held
the eastern conference and will
continue to do so as long as they
have the two best player in the

NHL, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni
Malkin. Washington been a bit
weak lately, only going 3-3-4, but
as the season goes on look for
Alexander Ovechkin to get better
and see the team do better as well.
Philadelphia on the other hand has
been very good lately going 7-2-

1 in their last 10 games. Much of
Phillies' success has come from the
outstanding play of their top scorer
Claude Giroux and look for them to
make a move in the division as the
season continues.

Currently in the wild card race

in the Eastern conference are the
Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red
Wings, Ottawa Senators, New Jersey
Devils, and New York Rangers. All
the teams in the wild card have
been consistent, with Detroit being
the exception, but as the season
goes on look for some of these
teams to capitalize on poor play
by teams in their divisions. All

the teams’ mentioned are full of
playmakers and look for some of
them to come up big as we get in
the late part of the season.

Now for the Western Conference
who has been much stronger than
the east; starting with the Central
division we find Chicago in first
with 66 points, St Louis with 61

points, and Colorado with 54 points.
Chicago has had great goaltending
this year, despite losing number
one goalie Cory Crawford, and
currently holds the title for best
team in the NHL. With a number

of games in hand on teams below
them look for the game to close
quickly. St Louis has also been a
solid team this year, strong on the
puck and on a current win streak
of four games straight. Look for St.
Louis to push for top spot as the
season continues. Colorado, on

the other hand, had a great start

to the season but since has had a
hard time. With a record of 4-2-4 in
the last ten Colorado will need to
rebound soon not to lose track ona
spot in the playoffs.

In the Pacific division Anaheim
leads with 65 points, San Jose is
in second with 58 points, and Los
Angeles is in third with 54 points.
With a record of 9-1 Anaheim has
been stellar of late and have been
strong throughout the season.
Look for them to be consistent
throughout the rest of the season
even if pressured by many teams in
their division. San Jose is has also
been a consistently strong team
and look for them to continue to
put pressure on Anaheim for the
division lead. Los Angeles has also

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been a strong team but of late they
have lost five straight and are ona
bit of a cold streak. Do not expect
them to be there long, as LA has

a lot of players who can elevate
their game and bring them back

to winning form. In the wild card
race Vancouver, Phoenix, Dallas,
Minnesota, and Winnipeg are all
in the running. All these teams
have put consistent pressure on
division leaders to keep their game
up and as the season goes on look
for teams most of these teams to
find their groove and move into a
divisional spot and push teams out
of playoff contention.

At this point in the season the

West has been the stronger
conference and also been the
harder conference to move up in.
Vancouver has consistently played
well but has done little to surpass
divisional teams like LA, San Jose,
and Anaheim. Look for the west

to remain this way and see little
change in the teams making the
playoffs. In the east look for a lot of
change in the standings as teams
like Washington continue to exhibit
poor play. The eastern conference
playoff picture is hardly set so look
for much to change in the months
to come.